Context: Nineteenth-century social critic Karl Marx famously wrote: “The history of all existing society is the history of class struggles. Whether the freeman or the slave; the lord or the serf—in short, the oppressor and the oppressed—social classes stand in constant opposition, carrying on an uninterrupted, once hidden, now open fight: A fight that each time ended either in a revolution or the ruin of the contending classes . . . Society as a whole is splitting up into two great hostile camps; into two great classes facing each other: Bourgeois capitalists and a proletarian workforce.” These words, from Marx’s The Communist Manifesto (1848), construct what we now call Marx’s ideology (or worldview); because the production and exchange of goods and services support human life and are the basis for all social institutions, life is always a class struggle. Artifacts we see in contemporary literature—for example, the 1980 film comedy Caddyshack—highlight the extent to which Marxism impacts our culture through the arts.
Marx referred to the working class as the proletariat. Furthermore, Marx claimed that the bourgeoisie (“haves”) place proletarians (“have nots”) in constant conflict with each other. These conflicts—ignited by the proletariat’s desire to move from working class to bourgeois social status—keep the proletariat “in its rightful place.” According to Marx, this is because the bourgeoisie “set up the system” such that the working class has little in the way of upward economic mobility. In Caddyshack, we know that protagonist Danny Noonan is a lower-middle-class proletariat working in the manual labor force; he is employed by a golf course, worried about his ability to succeed in college, and fears the notion of working in a local lumberyard. Danny, and other proletarian and bourgeois characters in Caddyshack, are indirectly developed through the visual and aural metaphors (rhetoric) presented by the film’s authors.
Let’s analyze Caddyshack through “Marxist lenses.”
ANALYSIS [noun]: Inquiry, investigation, or dissection. A method of studying or finding meaning in something. To interpret something’s purposes or determine its essential features. A philosophical method of exhibiting complex concepts as compounds or functions of more basic ones.
This is what analysis looks like . . . literally . . . Click here to watch the first clip. Click here to watch the second clip.
Your job: To do the same; perform an analysis—that is, “find meaning in” or “interpret the purposes of”—the film clips below, using Marx and “lit-crit language” as your guide. If necessary, you can find and reference The Tenets of Marxism here . . .
Review: Recall previous class lectures during which we outlined the process of analyzing text . . .
Interact with the narrative as a whole. We did this by watching Caddyshack.
Identify those parts that affect us most deeply. Below, your teacher identified those “parts.” Each video clip isolates important information from the rest of the narrative.
Categorize those parts, using specific literary terms. In each of your responses, you will be required to fulfill this task.
Analyze and interpret those parts to find meaning. (Use inferences to “read between the lines” and “look below the surface.”) What do these “parts” mean? What thematic purpose do they serve? What is the underlying message or point? Again, in each of your responses, you will be required to fulfill this task.
Instructions: Watch the video clips individually. For each one, using Microsoft Word, compose a (minimum length) six-to-eight sentence analysis paragraph. Within each answer, first provide context. Where, when, and how does this scene fit into the rest of the movie? Then, articulate—what is the scene’s importance to the rest of the story? Next, point to specific Marxist tenants that “align with” (are illustrated, demonstrated, or “proven” by) information provided by the video clip. Additionally, highlight several pieces of evidence from the clip—information that “aligns with,” illustrates, demonstrates, or “proves” Marx’s points. Finally, elaborate. Remember—the evidence you cite doesn’t “stand alone.” You must EXPLAIN how the cited evidence proves your point.
Consult the short-essay writing pamphlet (“MEL”) provided to you at the beginning of the school year. (Lost it? Download a new copy below.)
Karl Marx meets Caddyshack
Context: Nineteenth-century social critic Karl Marx famously wrote: “The history of all existing society is the history of class struggles. Whether the freeman or the slave; the lord or the serf—in short, the oppressor and the oppressed—social classes stand in constant opposition, carrying on an uninterrupted, once hidden, now open fight: A fight that each time ended either in a revolution or the ruin of the contending classes . . . Society as a whole is splitting up into two great hostile camps; into two great classes facing each other: Bourgeois capitalists and a proletarian workforce.” These words, from Marx’s The Communist Manifesto (1848), construct what we now call Marx’s ideology (or worldview); because the production and exchange of goods and services support human life and are the basis for all social institutions, life is always a class struggle. Artifacts we see in contemporary literature—for example, the 1980 film comedy Caddyshack—highlight the extent to which Marxism impacts our culture through the arts.
Marx referred to the working class as the proletariat. Furthermore, Marx claimed that the bourgeoisie (“haves”) place proletarians (“have nots”) in constant conflict with each other. These conflicts—ignited by the proletariat’s desire to move from working class to bourgeois social status—keep the proletariat “in its rightful place.” According to Marx, this is because the bourgeoisie “set up the system” such that the working class has little in the way of upward economic mobility. In Caddyshack, we know that protagonist Danny Noonan is a lower-middle-class proletariat working in the manual labor force; he is employed by a golf course, worried about his ability to succeed in college, and fears the notion of working in a local lumberyard. Danny, and other proletarian and bourgeois characters in Caddyshack, are indirectly developed through the visual and aural metaphors (rhetoric) presented by the film’s authors.
Let’s analyze Caddyshack through “Marxist lenses.”
ANALYSIS [noun]: Inquiry, investigation, or dissection. A method of studying or finding meaning in something. To interpret something’s purposes or determine its essential features. A philosophical method of exhibiting complex concepts as compounds or functions of more basic ones.
This is what analysis looks like . . . literally . . . Click here to watch the first clip. Click here to watch the second clip.
Your job: To do the same; perform an analysis—that is, “find meaning in” or “interpret the purposes of”—the film clips below, using Marx and “lit-crit language” as your guide. If necessary, you can find and reference The Tenets of Marxism here . . .
Review: Recall previous class lectures during which we outlined the process of analyzing text . . .
Interact with the narrative as a whole. We did this by watching Caddyshack.
Identify those parts that affect us most deeply. Below, your teacher identified those “parts.” Each video clip isolates important information from the rest of the narrative.
Categorize those parts, using specific literary terms. In each of your responses, you will be required to fulfill this task.
Analyze and interpret those parts to find meaning. (Use inferences to “read between the lines” and “look below the surface.”) What do these “parts” mean? What thematic purpose do they serve? What is the underlying message or point? Again, in each of your responses, you will be required to fulfill this task.
Instructions: Watch the video clips individually. For each one, using Microsoft Word, compose a (minimum length) six-to-eight sentence analysis paragraph. Within each answer, first provide context. Where, when, and how does this scene fit into the rest of the movie? Then, articulate—what is the scene’s importance to the rest of the story? Next, point to specific Marxist tenants that “align with” (are illustrated, demonstrated, or “proven” by) information provided by the video clip. Additionally, highlight several pieces of evidence from the clip—information that “aligns with,” illustrates, demonstrates, or “proves” Marx’s points. Finally, elaborate. Remember—the evidence you cite doesn’t “stand alone.” You must EXPLAIN how the cited evidence proves your point.
Consult the short-essay writing pamphlet (“MEL”) provided to you at the beginning of the school year. (Lost it? Download a new copy below.)
Open this document. Use it to compose your answers. SAVE AS YOU WRITE! You will print this sheet upon completion of the assessment.
Clip 1: Danny's Conflict
Clip 2: Haves and Have-Nots
Clip 3: "Honorable" Professions
Clip 4a (click here) and 4b (click here): Personal Worth
Clip 5: Property Ownership
Clip 6: Carl
Clip 7: Golf Carts